Controversial religious organization aims outrage at new late-night comedy series
Actor/producer Gerald “Slink” Johnson is no stranger to controversy, having earned praise for voicing Lamar Davis in the ultra-violent Grand Theft Auto V. But now his live-action starring debut has turned into a political firestorm as the protest group One Million Moms (who famously claimed that Maxwell the Geico Pig was promoting beastiality) has launched a campaign against the upcoming Adult Swim series Black Jesus, which features Johnson in the title role.
Black Jesus is a half-hour scripted comedy from Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder based around the exploits of Johnson as a 21st Century African-American incarnation of Jesus Christ working to do good works alongside a new group of friends and followers in impoverished Compton, CA. Charlie Murphy and John Witherspoon also star.
One Million Moms’ original petition against the show from two days ago stated: “1MM will defend our Savior because He is Holy!” The cause was subsequently taken up by their parent organization The American Family Association, which filed a separate petition spotlighting “violence, gunfire, drugs and other inappropriate gestures which completely misrepresent Jesus,” and also complaining that “Adult Swim is not ridiculing any other religion and wouldn’t dream of mocking Mohammed or Muslims.” (It is unclear whether the AFA is exempting Adult Swim’s re-runs of Fox’s Family Guy, which has frequently satirized the Muslim faith, from that particular criticism.)
Originally called the National Federation for Decency, the American Family Association was founded in 1977 by Donald Wildmon, who gained national fame in 1988 when he accused the cartoon character Mighty Mouse of abusing cocaine. In 2010, the organization was designated a Hate Group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Source: Deadline Hollywood
